Water Well

A popular venue in the heat of summer is a water park! One thing that makes it so unique is that most of its water is ... moving. Creatively using flumes or waves or buckets or underground nozzles, those who visit a water park are guaranteed an exhilarating time of refreshment. Consider, however, how useless a water park would be, however, without water. Wisdom from God is, "One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered." (Proverbs 11:24-25 ESV). While we are commanded to be generous with our material wealth, there is perhaps a more far-reaching stewardship for every Believer - that is, to refresh others. No doubt, those water parks have a strong source or reservoir of water; so must those who are serious about being refreshed themselves as well as a continual refreshment to others. I suspect, however, many times we are somewhat disconnected from the True Water because of our neglect to spend time in His Presence. Luke 5:16-17 tell us Jesus would "withdraw to desolate places and pray ... and the power of the Lord was with Him to heal." Now, if Jesus - Son of God, God in the flesh - needed those times of communion with The Father for effectiveness, how wise are we to suppose we do not? One of my favorite examples of refreshment in Scripture comes from 2 Timothy: "May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me ... when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me" (V.16-18). We know little but a lot of this one named Onesiphorus - he was one who encouraged-refreshed Paul; it wasn't just a casual oh-by-the-way sort of refreshment - no, he sought-out the apostle and watered him well. How well are we watering those who find themselves in a dry thirsty place or season? Do not neglect your time with The Lord in study, prayer and worship ... let The Living Water refresh you then let that Water flow through you to others ... water well.

Do Not Linger

One of my favorite retirement past-times is a leisurely day with a friend: making a few shop-stops, having a good meal - I call it ... a'junkin' day. God’s mercy is seen in Scripture from cover-to-cover, but the first writing of the Hebrew "chemal" – root word meaning mercy – is found in the account of Lot, Abraham’s nephew at the pending destruction of Sodom. “As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, ‘Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.’ But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.” (Genesis 19:15-16). Lot was not in a hurry - he lingered! A portion of Copperhill, Tennessee is in Georgia and another portion is in Tennessee; You can literally straddle a line, having one foot in Georgia and one foot in Tennessee! A divided heart is a serious spiritual dilemma. It’s impossible to sincerely fear and serve a holy God while [at the same time] embracing worldly idols – anything put ahead of Christ.  God continuously extends His mercy, kindness, patience, love, compassion ... yet we linger to obey Him. He will not always tarry – the day of our casual lingering will end.  Joshua boldly proclaimed, “Choose this day whom you will serve … As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15).  How I love those junkin' days of lingering here-and-there; such a time of hesitantly lingering to be what God desires us to be is dangerously shorter than we can know. Be wise ... do not linger.

Stay Stupid

Of course, we know we shouldn’t call others stupid, but stupid (senselessness) does overtake each of us at times.  The secret is to keep it a secret as best you can: it’s "better to keep your mouth  closed and thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Can you believe, of all people in history, King Solomon felt stupid! "Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy." (Proverbs 30:2-3).  Interestingly, his feeling of inadequate wisdom only pressed him to seek God more. Solomon struggled to avoid vanity and pride, which always hinders knowing God. What a model for the wise!  Now, let’s not promote stupidity as the world defines it, but remain humble and teachable unto God. As inappropriate and ridiculous as it may sound, spiritually-speaking … let’s stay stupid!

Desperate for Righteousness

Most likely, you've been examined by a doctor, interviewed as a potential employee, and/or been finger-printed or had a background check. All these indicate a careful and thorough examination, most likely something to which we consented. Perhaps such an depth study of who we are is not scary especially if we are certain of the results. I wonder, however, how many of us welcome God's examination of our hearts. Hmm, maybe so eager. David wrote, "O LORD, do not rebuke or punish me in Your anger, nor discipline me in Your wrath." (Psalm 6:1 AMP). David's request is rooted in a truth we must not miss: he didn't ask God to withhold discipline altogether; rather, he asked God not discipline him in anger. David was aware of his sin and God's displeasure, he saw himself in need of God's discipline. It seems we see here a man who longed for righteousness so desperately he was eager for whatever it would take - rebuke and discipline - to make his heart into the likeness of God. Now, I was never excited when Coach told me and my team mates to run the lines at basketball practice but we knew it was part of disciplining our bodies for strength and endurance. While we we [very quietly] moaned and groaned, we submitted and obey Coach; he was the authority and knew how to help us be the the best we could be. Hebrews 12:6 tells us God disciplines the ones He loves; we also know this: "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:11). We've heard it - no pain, no gain! The question, therefore, before each of God's children is this: how much deeply do we long to be like Christ - enough to desire a full examination of the heart AND surrender to whatever God feels it will take to bring that "fruit of righteousness" (holiness) in us? Perhaps the best we can ask God for is that He make us ... desperate for righteousness.

Good For You

There's really no excuse these days knowing the things that good for us and the things bad for us. The psalmist wrote these words in Chapter 73, which continually resound in my mind: "It is good for me to draw near to God." (Psalm 73:28a). Just like the discipline of making good choices for the body, choosing good things for the heart and mind is absolutely-completely vital to a healthy spiritual life and a close relationship with God. Are you experiencing an unexplained distance from The Father? To be sure, it isn't Him Who has moved.  Choose wisely - draw near to Him ...it's good for you!